The FamilyTreeDNA Discover™ pages contain new beta features related to Y-DNA haplogroups. If you or a relative have taken a DNA test and have received your Y-DNA haplogroup from FamilyTreeDNA or another company that provided you with a Y-DNA haplogroup, you can get a free Discover™ report and learn more about your Y-DNA haplogroup.
In the future, we plan to add more new features to the Discover™ pages. These new features will not be limited to only Y-DNA. We will use the customer feedback we receive to identify problems and to determine the interest in the different features so that we can better prioritize the main FamilyTreeDNA website.
How to Access FamilyTreeDNA Discover™
FamilyTreeDNA Customers
To access the FamilyTreeDNA Discover™ pages:
- Sign in to your FamilyTreeDNA account.
- On your dashboard, click the Discover™ Haplogroup Reports button on your Additional Tests & Tools widget.
Not a FamilyTreeDNA Customer Yet?
If you are not a FamilyTreeDNA customer, click here to access the Discover™ pages.
I tested with FamilyTreeDNA, why can't I find my Y-DNA haplogroup on the Discover™ page?
First, verify you are entering a valid Y-DNA haplogroup name in the shorthand format (e.g., R-M222). You can also search for a specific SNP (e.g., L491).
If it is a newly added haplogroup on the FamilyTreeDNA Y-DNA Haplotree, it can take a week for your report to become available.
I tested with another company, why can't I find my Y-DNA haplogroup on the Discover™ page?
- Make sure that you are using the modern shorthand representation (e.g., R-M222) and not the older longhand nomenclature (e.g., R1b1a1b1a1a2c1a1a1a1a1). You can look up a longhand haplogroup on the ISOGG tree to find the SNP name.
- If your SNP could not be found, it could be that the specific SNP is not represented on the FamilyTreeDNA Y-DNA Haplotree. Our tree is the largest and most comprehensive human Y-DNA phylogenetic tree, but sometimes, we might not have any Big Y test results from a specific lineage. We typically require two Big Y tests to share a Y-SNP for it to be added to the tree.
- You can try searching for an equivalent SNP name or a less specific SNP name.
- The best way to ensure that your haplogroup is represented on the largest Y-DNA tree is to take a Big Y test with FamilyTreeDNA.
I am interested in a specific ancient sample and it is not listed in Ancient Connections, when will it become available?
We are planning to add thousands of ancient DNA samples in the upcoming months. If there is a specific study that you would like to see included, you can let us know by opening a support request.
What does the haplogroup asterisk/star (*) mean?
Example: He is the most recent common ancestor of at least 3 lineages known as I-DF29, I-Z17954, and I-M253*.
A Big Y test result belonging to a branch with one or more subclades but not belonging to any of those subclades represent a new lineage from the same ancestral branch. When another Big Y test result from the same new lineage is tested, sharing one or more of the private variants, a new branch will be created with a name to represent the lineage. Until that happens, the haplogroup placement is represented as the branch name followed by an asterisk (*) by standard convention.
This notation was introduced by the Y Chromosome Consortium in 2002:
Paragroups are distinguished from haplogroups (i.e., monophyletic groupings) by using the * (star) symbol, which represents chromosomes belonging to a clade but not its subclades. For example, paragroup B* belongs to the B clade; however, it does not fall into haplogroup B1 or B2.
A Nomenclature System for the Tree of Human Y-Chromosomal Binary Haplogroups
I know the haplogroup of a Notable Connection that would be interesting to include, what are the requirements?
The verifiable information must be publicly available, for example, from relatives in a Group Project or mentioned in media or other publications. Sometimes incorrect, speculative, or outdated haplogroup assignments are mentioned online, and we need to verify the information before it can be included. Descendants from a specific lineage can also give us permission to use their information, even if it is not publicly available.
Note: We reserve the right to decide which connections should be included.